Friday, August 8th, 2008...

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

...will stay in my mind as one of the happiest (if not THE happiest) days of my life. That night, the first Joe Satriani concert in my country took place and, as you know, Stu Hamm is Joe's current bass player (For those of you who don't know, Stu is my biggest influence on the bass guitar. I mean, he's the bassist I've studied the most since I saw him for the first time back in 1991 on his "Slap, Pop & Tap for the Bass" video).

When I bought my ticket a couple of months ago, I noticed that there was a premium package available: A "Meet and Greet" with Joe. After seeing that, I contacted Stu through his site's webmaster (Jeff Trout, a fellow TBer) asking if he was going to be at that meeting with Joe. He replied that it was a total Joe thing and he wasn't going to be there, so I could save my money and bring a bottle of wine for him instead.

Last week, I contacted Jeff again asking him to ask Stu what should I do to meet him. He replied asking for my full name and later I received another message notifying me that my name was included in an after show guests list. I let Jeff know my concerns about it because I know how things are in my country, but Stu sent another message telling me that everything should go fine and, if problems appeared, just ask for Russ, Galen or Mick.

I arrived to the venue in the morning, and the adventure begun. In the afternoon and thanks to his son, I could talk to Mick, the tour manager, and I gave him the two bottles I brought for Stu. At least, I could have some peace of mind about the police bugging me for alcohol posession. After LOTS of problems because, as I expected, that guests list never appeared, I managed to go backstage after the concert. I wasn't the only one, but I told the guy at the door: "Please tell Mr. Stuart Hamm that Alvaro Martín Gómez is here" and, after letting him know, the doorman allowed me to enter. There were other people taking pictures with him and I waited behind him. When he saw me, he asked: "You are Alvaro, right?"

The hug that followed, my friends, was the biggest moment in my life. I felt like a 12-year old kid, as my dumb face in the pictures below reveal (Well, add the stress produced by a whole day going back and forth trying to find someone who could help me).





After that, Mick approached me and said "Hey Alvaro, this is strange. The guests list never appeared". Stu said the same and I replied: "That was my biggest concern. I KNEW that something like that was going to happen".

Oh, of course I also recorded his solo during the concert. My apologies for the video's terrible quality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh8c9jQ7Cr8

And there's more: I brought my collection of Stu's solo CDs (All of them - 5 in total), my copy of his bass book, which I bought through Barnes and Noble in 1998 or '99, and a blank paper. My intention was just show him how a big fan I am. I mean, a sign on the blank paper was enough for me. But he said: "Oh, I'll sign them all". So, besides his bass book and a blank piece of paper ready for framing, I have the full Stu Hamm solo discography autographed by The Man himself. The thing is, I don't have a scanner right now since I had to discard the one I had after upgrading my PC's motherboard, but a new one will be at home next Tuesday. So you'll see the pictures in a couple of days.

Not enough time to talk. I asked him if he still has his Kubickis and he said that some of them are still at home. He asked me what bass I play. "Bongo? That's a great bass. It also has three pickups like the Urge, right?" I corrected him, of course.

Finally, he told me that he was interested in hearing some colombian music. Of course, I will post some recordings to his website (He's particularly interested in Carlos Vives). After another hug, making sure that he received my present, telling him one more time how much I admire him and saying "thanks for everything", I left the room still shocked.


What a experience. This seemed impossible to me, and it has happened. Now I can die a happy man. Stay tuned for more pics. Thanks for reading!

[Lowtonejoe]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

...will stay in my mind as one of the happiest (if not THE happiest) days of my life. That night, the first Joe Satriani concert in my country took place and, as you know, Stu Hamm is Joe's current bass player (For those of you who don't know, Stu is my biggest influence on the bass guitar. I mean, he's the bassist I've studied the most since I saw him for the first time back in 1991 on his "Slap, Pop & Tap for the Bass" video).

When I bought my ticket a couple of months ago, I noticed that there was a premium package available: A "Meet and Greet" with Joe. After seeing that, I contacted Stu through his site's webmaster (Jeff Trout, a fellow TBer) asking if he was going to be at that meeting with Joe. He replied that it was a total Joe thing and he wasn't going to be there, so I could save my money and bring a bottle of wine for him instead.

Last week, I contacted Jeff again asking him to ask Stu what should I do to meet him. He replied asking for my full name and later I received another message notifying me that my name was included in an after show guests list. I let Jeff know my concerns about it because I know how things are in my country, but Stu sent another message telling me that everything should go fine and, if problems appeared, just ask for Russ, Galen or Mick.

I arrived to the venue in the morning, and the adventure begun. In the afternoon and thanks to his son, I could talk to Mick, the tour manager, and I gave him the two bottles I brought for Stu. At least, I could have some peace of mind about the police bugging me for alcohol posession. After LOTS of problems because, as I expected, that guests list never appeared, I managed to go backstage after the concert. I wasn't the only one, but I told the guy at the door: "Please tell Mr. Stuart Hamm that Alvaro Martín Gómez is here" and, after letting him know, the doorman allowed me to enter. There were other people taking pictures with him and I waited behind him. When he saw me, he asked: "You are Alvaro, right?"

The hug that followed, my friends, was the biggest moment in my life. I felt like a 12-year old kid, as my dumb face in the pictures below reveal (Well, add the stress produced by a whole day going back and forth trying to find someone who could help me).





After that, Mick approached me and said "Hey Alvaro, this is strange. The guests list never appeared". Stu said the same and I replied: "That was my biggest concern. I KNEW that something like that was going to happen".

Oh, of course I also recorded his solo during the concert. My apologies for the video's terrible quality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh8c9jQ7Cr8

And there's more: I brought my collection of Stu's solo CDs (All of them - 5 in total), my copy of his bass book, which I bought through Barnes and Noble in 1998 or '99, and a blank paper. My intention was just show him how a big fan I am. I mean, a sign on the blank paper was enough for me. But he said: "Oh, I'll sign them all". So, besides his bass book and a blank piece of paper ready for framing, I have the full Stu Hamm solo discography autographed by The Man himself. The thing is, I don't have a scanner right now since I had to discard the one I had after upgrading my PC's motherboard, but a new one will be at home next Tuesday. So you'll see the pictures in a couple of days.

Not enough time to talk. I asked him if he still has his Kubickis and he said that some of them are still at home. He asked me what bass I play. "Bongo? That's a great bass. It also has three pickups like the Urge, right?" I corrected him, of course.

Finally, he told me that he was interested in hearing some colombian music. Of course, I will post some recordings to his website (He's particularly interested in Carlos Vives). After another hug, making sure that he received my present, telling him one more time how much I admire him and saying "thanks for everything", I left the room still shocked.


What a experience. This seemed impossible to me, and it has happened. Now I can die a happy man. Stay tuned for more pics. Thanks for reading!

Congratulations Alvaro, you are a very lucky man!

I have huge respect for Stu on many levels and hearing how you were treated just raises my respect that much higher.

Thank you very much for sharing!

And thanks for the bass solo!



Joe.

[FrostFire]

That's awesome. I wish I could have met my main bass influence, but he was killed in 1986 in Sweden. That's really cool for you, though.

[MoD_Scotty]

It's always good to find out that one of your idols is a nice guy. Congrats man.

[kobass]

Very cool, Alvaro!


Cheers,
Kevin

[Darkstrike]

Cool what a story!


Off topic, is that a new gold and tort Urge he playing?

[buzzbass]

very very cool, good for you.

[Uncle Ernie]

Alvaro, sounds like you had a great time. I saw Stu in a clinic in Mexico City back in 1993, and he was great... sounds like he's still the same.

Felicidades.

[anyonefortennis]

Last time I saw Joe live he was playing with Bongo man himself, Dave LaRue. When did he go back with Stu?

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

[Buskman]

Congrats, Alvaro! You must still be floating!

Thanks for the solo clip - "Flow My Tears" (the beginning segment of his medley) is still one of my favorite tunes to this day!

[CanadaBass]

What an awesome story Alvaro!!

[Papersen]

Oops, I obviously missed this thread.
First of all, let me say you REALLY look like a kid
(you don`t look like a 41 years old guy)

I imagine it`s been a terrific experience. Even more since you had so many obstacles in the middle and you`ve travelled a lot to get there. I`m very happy for you and for those of us who live in "remote" areas, this kind of things are lifetime experiences.

[selowitch]

Stu Hamm is simply awesome. I love how he refuses to accept any limitations on what can be done on the bass. He's a monster. I'm delighted you had this great, once-in-a-lifetime experience!